Get to know this year's Artist in residence, William Kentridge.

This year's Festival will be the first time in Norway that an audience can experience South African artist William Kentridge's large scale productions. The 2025 Bergen International Festival opens with his latest performance The Great Yes, The Great No. Before the Thursday 22 May performance the audience is invited to hear the artist in conversation with Professor Maria Delgado, University of London.

On Saturday 24 May there will be a performance of Oh To Believe in Another World, where Kentridge has created a visual interpretation of Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony. The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra performs the symphony alongside the film.

About William Kentridge

William Kentridge (b. 1955) lives and works in Johannesburg and has influenced the international art scene across disciplines for decades. He is both a visual artist, filmmaker, and sculptor and has created major opera and theatre productions. His work engages with politics, science, literature, and history, and is known for interdisciplinary collaborations.

Kentridge holds honorary doctorates from Yale, London University, and Columbia University, and the Norwegian Queen Sonja Print Award is just one of the many accolades he has received.

About The Great Yes, The Great No

The Great Yes, The Great No is fateful music theatre – part theatre, part Greek chorus, and part chamber opera—all enveloped and tied together by the South African artist’s surreal, poetic expression.

Practical information

Doors open 30 mins before the talk.

The talk will be held in English